Robert Downey Jr. Producing a U.S.S. Indianapolis Movie

Robert Shaw's horrifying real-life shark tale from Jaws finally gets a movie of its own.

One of the best scenes in one of the best movies ever featured Robert Shaw's monologue about the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the subsequent shark frenzy that followed in Steven Spielberg's Jaws. Now, that story will come to life courtesy of Robert Downey Jr., his wife Susan Downey and Warner Bros., as told through the eyes of Hunter Scott, the 11-year-old boy whose research into the incident eventually exonerated U.S.S. Indianapolis captain Charles McVay.

No word on whether Robert Downey Jr. will appear in front of the camera in the as-yet-untitled project, but he's collaborated with Susan Downey on several films before, including Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Sherlock Holmes, Due Date and the upcoming Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, so it's not unlikely. Warner Bros. has set The Pacific co-writer Robert Schenkkan to work on the film, which will have to compete with the upcoming mini-series America: In the King Years for his attentions at the moment. Hollywood Reporter had the story.

A lot of ways this could go wrong, we think: the child angle could lead to over-sentimentalism, the balance between the shark attack and the following investigation could be unbalanced if one is in any way more interesting than the other. But it sounds like an ambitious projects, and as Jaws fans we can't help but be intrigued.

CraveOnline will be back with more U.S.S. Indianapolis news after we check from the dorsal to the tail…